Abstract
Durkheim’s idea focuses mainly on how societies are glued together and how they maintain order, stability and identity within that community, both as a community and as an individual. According to Durkheim because solidarity is a non-material social fact, changes in social structure are affected and can be seen by changes in law and legal practice. This paper seeks to illustrate how Durkheim’s notion of solidarity correlates to Singapore’s social changes and what the celebration of the Golden Jubilee this year actually means to the nation in accordance with Durkheim’s concepts. It will give evidence on how social changes in past and present Singapore exemplifies Durkheim’s two notions of social solidarity, Mechanical and Organic and how changes in Singapore’s laws have direct implications on changes in Singapore’s society. Singapore, formerly known as Temasek, was a fishing village prior to the arrival of the British. After which, it was renamed to Singapore in the early 1819s by Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles. At that point of time, Singapore had an estimate of 1,000 inhabitant, which was mainly made up of indigenous people. This year Singapore celebrates its Golden Jubilee, marking fifty years of independence.
Research by Durkheim (1893), the notion of social solidarity, or the cohesion of social groups,
…show more content…
As mentioned by Durkheim, mechanical solidarity is usually linked to feudal and tribal societies, and these people have a strong traditional belief system (Durkheim, 1893). The term ‘mechanical’ is used in this case to reference the rigidity of the social order. Mechanical societies are described as communities that experience few social changes where roles and hierarchy hardly change through